Friday, January 28, 2011

La Défense is not an entry-level venue for tourists to Paris, but on occasion a stroll along its vast elevated esplanade with suspended gardens and some 60 sculptures and works of art is indicated. Paris' major business quarter is also Europe's largest purpose-built business district. Most Parisian high-rise buildings--containing more that 3 million square meters of office space-- are grouped in this zone.

A favorite photographer's backdrop on the esplanade is Raymond Moretti's (1931-2005) Cheminée, a 30-meter high sculptured tower of concrete and fiberglass tubes that conceals a ventilation shaft.